Just got the following email from a publisher of translated contemporary Arabic literature:
Pretty impressive: One-click access to video of author speaking (in Arabic with English sub-titles) about the novel; lengthy English-language extract; background info about the author; link to publisher's blog where one can find some authors personally reading their work, etc.
Has any publisher of Chinese literature in translation done something along these lines?
Comments
No! I've been telling everyone who would listen, for like the last decade, that they should shell out for subtitled video interviews of authors. Lots of smiles, lots of nods, not one publisher or government agency has done it.
Those who would actually want this content don't have the resources to produce it. Those who have the resources, don't want it.
Eric Abrahamsen, February 7, 2020, 5:25a.m.
We trialled the approached a while ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TauJQQOkkWU). your right @Bruce, it is very resource intensive, especially to get it looking professional. It's also tough to get a proper RoI on it if you don't have an platform to push the videos out there and in front of eyeballs.
That being said, I haven't given up, we have small projects here and there that we are trying, keep an eye out for some Zhou Daxin content coming out in May ;).
Daniel li (ACA), February 7, 2020, 12:12p.m.
That's great news, Daniel! For the record, I think the people paying for this ought to be the Chinese government (in one form or another), but if you guys can make it work, that's awesome as well. Also cf University of Oklahoma's "book trailer" for Sandalwood Death.
Eric Abrahamsen, February 7, 2020, 4:12p.m.